As Q1 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter's best and worst performers amongst the semiconductor manufacturing stocks, including Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and its peers.
The semiconductor industry is driven by demand for advanced electronic products like smartphones, PCs, servers and data storage. The growth of data and technologies like artificial intelligence, 5G networks and smart cars are also creating a next wave of growth for the industry. To keep up with ever changing customer needs requires new tools that can design, fabricate and test at ever smaller sizes and more complex architectures, and that is driving the demand for semiconductor capital manufacturing equipment.
The 14 semiconductor manufacturing stocks we track reported a mixed Q1; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 3.16%, while on average next quarter revenue guidance was 1.49% under consensus. Technology stocks have been hit hard on fears of higher interest rates as investors search for near-term cash flows , but semiconductor manufacturing stocks held their ground better than others, with the share prices up 19.5% since the previous earnings results, on average.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)
Founded in 1967 as the first company that built the tools for other companies to use to make semiconductors, Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) is the largest provider of semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment.
Applied Materials reported revenues of $6.63 billion, up 6.16% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 4.07%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with a beat on the bottom line and a solid beat of analyst estimates.
“Applied Materials delivered strong results in our second fiscal quarter with revenues and earnings in the high-end of our guidance range, and we expect to outperform our markets in 2023,” said Gary Dickerson, President and CEO.
The stock is up 3.88% since the results and currently trades at $135.01.
Is now the time to buy Applied Materials? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Best Q1: Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB)
Sporting a global footprint of facilities, Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) is a manufacturer of photomasks, templates used to transfer patterns onto semiconductor wafers.
Photronics reported revenues of $229.3 million, up 12.1% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 8.68%. It was an exceptional quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in gross margin and revenue guidance for the next quarter above analysts' estimates.
Photronics scored the strongest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The stock is up 33.6% since the results and currently trades at $23.
Is now the time to buy Photronics? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Weakest Q1: IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP)
Both a designer and manufacturer of most of its products, IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) is a provider of high-performance fiber lasers that are used for cutting, welding and processing raw materials.
IPG Photonics reported revenues of $347.2 million, down 6.16% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 5.01%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and an increase in inventory levels.
The stock is down 4.17% since the results and currently trades at $113.1.
Read our full analysis of IPG Photonics's results here.
Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI)
Headquartered in Israel, Nova (NASDAQ: NVMI) is a provider of quality control systems used in semiconductor manufacturing.
Nova reported revenues of $132.2 million, down 1.32% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.64%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and an increase in inventory levels.
The stock is up 24.7% since the results and currently trades at $113.65.
Read our full, actionable report on Nova here, it's free.
KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)
Formed by the 1997 merger of the two leading semiconductor yield management companies, KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) is the leading supplier of equipment used to measure and inspect semiconductor chips.
KLA Corporation reported revenues of $2.43 billion, up 6.29% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 2.36%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with a beat on the bottom line but an increase in inventory levels.
The stock is up 29.8% since the results and currently trades at $464.21.
Read our full, actionable report on KLA Corporation here, it's free.
The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned